This Vicious Grace: A Novel (The Last Finestra, 1)
This Vicious Grace: A Novel (The Last Finestra, 1) book cover

This Vicious Grace: A Novel (The Last Finestra, 1)

Hardcover – June 28, 2022

by
Price
$10.49
Format
Hardcover
Pages
448
Publisher
Wednesday Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1250794055
Dimensions
5.85 x 1.55 x 8.6 inches
Weight
1.09 pounds

Description

A SIBA 2023 Southern Book Prize Finalist A Summer 2022 Kids’ Indie Next Pick One of YALSA's 2023 Best Fiction for Young Adults Oprah Daily , "Top 25 Fantasy Books of 2022" Seventeen, " Best YA Books of 2022" Paste Magazine , "The Best YA Books of 2022" Buzzfeed , "25 Book Recommendations for The Holiday Season" Epic Reads , "The 21 Most Anticipated YA Books to Read in June" Frolic , " Our Top 10 YA Reads for June " Goodreads , "The 68 Most Anticipated YA Novels of 2022" and "The Can't-Hardly-Wait Young Adult Books of June" Gizmodo , "58 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books for Your Summer Reading Pleasure" Nerd Daily , " Upcoming YA Book Releases to Add to Your TBR" and "24 Debut Releases To Get Your Hands On In 2022" PopSugar , "Books by Women Writers Are Absolute Must Reads in 2022" Nerdist , "13 Brilliant Books to Bring You Joy This June" United by Pop , " Exciting New YA Reads For June 2022""One of the best fantasies of the year." - Buzzfeed “With masterful world-building and endearing characters, This Vicious Grace is a stunning YA fantasy that will leave the reader breathless. Highly recommend for fans of Dance of Thieves, The Tiger at Midnight, and The Shadows Between Us. ” - Young Adult Books Centra l “This Vicious Grace melds two of our favorite things: slow burn romance and mythological reimaginings. Flipping through the pages feels like a sweltering European vacation and that’s before we get to the bodyguard trope in the form of hunky love interest Dante. [A] delightful debut.” - Nerdist "Readers will be drawn to Alessa’s kind and independent spirit as she grapples with duty versus agency, love and betrayal―all situated within a well-crafted world. An eerie, magic-infused debut." - Booklist "...a near-perfect blend of fantasy romance magic, one that will leave readers both thoroughly satisfied and eager for a sequel...A lush setting sprinkled with an irresistible Italian flavor and worldbuilding that hints at much more historical and political depth than we’re allowed to see on the page, This Vicious Grace is effortlessly romantic, thrillingly immersive, and more than worth your time this summer." - Paste Magazine "Quick witted and action packed with a bodyguard romance that’s equally as supportive and warm as it is angsty and fun, This Vicious Grace... is about to become your newest YA fantasy obsession." - United by Pop "If you are a fan of dark fantasy and romantic comedies, then This Vicious Grace might be the perfect book for you!" - Her Campus "Thiede's mesmerizing debut weaves political intrigue, power struggles, and faith with intense romance in this immersive series opener." - Publishers Weekly "Thiede’s dramatic and fantastical debut is artfully colored with Italian-inspired lore." - Kirkus Reviews " This Vicious Grace is a luminescent fantasy with impeccable worldbuilding (an immersive Italian-inspired shoreline setting), a delightfully sharp-witted cast and a ravishingly provocative romance. This Vicious Grace is impossible to forget--a superb and captivating YA fantasy with wit, charm and a romance readers will swoon over." - Shelf Awareness "A tense, beautifully written story of power, disability and guilt...If you want a rich, poetic page turner for the summer, look here." - The Seattle Times "An Italian-infused debut novel recommended for collections where fantasy is popular. Thiede creates an array of dynamic characters and a suspenseful story that will leave readers ready for the next installment." - School Library Journal "Gorgeously atmospheric and effortlessly romantic, This Vicious Grace is a high stakes story with a central duo you truly miss when the book ends. If the thrilling climatic battle between the book’s heroes and the demons is anything to go by, Emily Thiede has much more up her sleeve than a heart-fluttering romance between a saviour and her bodyguard. And the surprise revelation at the end suggests we should be very excited about the sequel." - Culturefly (UK) "This book is incredible! The banter, the romance, the tension ! I couldn't get enough!" - Lauren Blackwood, New York Times bestselling author of Within These Wicked Walls "Filled with witty banter, unlikely friendships, a swoon-worthy romance, and high stakes tension, Emily Thiede creates an immersive fantasy world inspired by the sun-drenched Amalfi coast that will captivate readers until the very last page. Sure to be a favourite for fans of Stephanie Garber, Leigh Bargudo, and Kerri Maniscalco." - Lyndall Clipstone, author of Lakesedge "A richly imagined world featuring a slow burn, sizzling romance and a conflict that crackles with magic." - Elle Cosimano, award-winning author of Seasons of the Storm "A remarkably fresh debut, This Vicious Grace is an absolute delight from cover to cover. Its rich, transportive world sparkles on every page, and I was spirited away by Thiede’s beautifully rendered cast. I would follow Alessa and Dante anywhere, and can’t wait for their next adventure." - Ayana Gray, New York Times bestselling author of Beasts of Prey "From the lush setting to dire stakes and whip-smart banter, This Vicious Grace is romantic, suspenseful, and utterly unforgettable." - Sarah Glenn Marsh, author of the Reign of the Fallen series "Riveting, passionate, and full of high stakes danger." - Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author "The perfect blend of humor and heart, This Vicious Grace is a high-stakes romp that brims with deadly magic, sparkling chemistry, and the deep yearning for connection in an alienating world. Prepare to fall head-over-heels with Alessa and Dante!" - Allison Saft, New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic "Remixing all the best parts of a dark fantasy and a romantic comedy, This Vicious Grace is a wonderfully fun time from start to finish, with lush, complex worldbuilding, intensely relatable characters, and relationships that are easy to root for." - Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For The Wolf EMILY THIEDE spent her childhood daydreaming and reading in trees. A former public school teacher, she teaches creative writing and serves on the board of Writer House, a local writing nonprofit, is a cohost for the Basic Pitches podcast, and has mentored aspiring writers through the Pitch Wars mentorship program. Emily enjoys fostering rescue kittens and getting lost in the woods of central Virginia, where she lives with her family. She is the author of This Vicious Grace and This Cursed Light . Find her on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

Features & Highlights

  • "One of the best fantasies of the year." -
  • Buzzfeed
  • "Riveting, passionate, and full of high stakes danger." ―Tamora Pierce, #1
  • New York Times
  • bestselling author
  • Emily Thiede's exciting fantasy debut,
  • This Vicious Grace
  • , the first in The Last Finestra duology, will keep readers turning the pages until the devastating conclusion and leave them primed for more!Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic, not kill every suitor she touches.Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find a partner and stop the invasion. When a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, her own soldiers try to assassinate her.Desperate to survive, Alessa hires Dante, a cynical outcast marked as a killer, to become her personal bodyguard. But as rebellion explodes outside the gates, Dante’s dark secrets may be the biggest betrayal. He holds the key to her survival and her heart, but is he the one person who can help her master her gift or destroy her once and for all?

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(292)
★★★★
25%
(122)
★★★
15%
(73)
★★
7%
(34)
★
-7%
(-34)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Delicious, swoony-filled, funny fantasy!!

This was a sweepingly romantic and adventurous upper YA fantasy. The ADHD rep felt very authentic, tied to the main plot while not solely defining the protagonist. I loved how the full cast of characters was carefully introduced and gradually became more and more defined and brought to bear on the plot in surprising and interesting ways. The midpoint twist had me racing to read on, and the ending has me desperate for the sequel. The world building is so clever, incorporating Italian language and details into a unique setting, and I can't wait to learn more about the greater world in book two.
3 people found this helpful
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Epic War and Epic Emotions

*A people trapped in a war between the gods and a young woman who is supposed to serve as their savior, if only she can find the right mate to stand by her side*

Alessa’s power is meant to amplify the magical gifts of her partner but a single touch from her can kill, and while her true partner should be able to withstand the effects of her touch, three suitors have already perished by her fingertips. Isolated, not only by her power but by the traditions and rituals that go along with it, Alessa is losing hope. As the impending attack on her island draws nearer, her pool of potential partners dwindles and her people lose faith in her. Will Alessa be the one who fails to save her island? Will she fall to the attacking demons, or is there a more immediate–and closer–threat to her life?

Enter Dante, who Alessa enlists to serve as her bodyguard. They begin to form a bond, but Dante falls outside of her circle of potential mates. And he harbors secrets of his own.

Excellent. Just excellent. This is 442 pages in print, 13 hours and 13 minutes on audio, and I finished it in two days. I did not want to put it down.

I was drawn to the fantasy world and to the forbidden romance. I felt for Alessa and her constant need to reassess who she could trust. I loved how Dante takes the time to really see Alessa as a person, not as a savior up on a pedestal, and how, because of how he treats her, Alessa begins to take up her own space and stand up for herself. Instead of wilting and hiding behind all the fabric that encases her skin, Alessa begins to become her own person again.

I loved the development of Alessa and Dante’s relationship, watching friendships and loyalty grow, seeing bonds develop, and the message of being stronger together.

In the audiobook version, Carlotta Brentan’s narration captures Alessa’s loneliness, her disenchantment, her hope, her yearning, her frustration, her courage, her strength. I definitely recommend the audiobook for this one, especially to hear the beautiful Italian chapter headings.

The centuries-long war and the battle scene are epic, but so are the human emotions and stories in this book.

I originally listened to an ALC version of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley and loved the story so much that I bought my own print copy of the book. All review opinions are my own.
2 people found this helpful
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Got me out of a reading slump

This book was so good!!

The Shadows Between Us meets Serpent & Dove in this magical story. Alessa is tasked with finding the perfect partner to win their upcoming battle against the evil army, but after three dead partners she’s losing hope and so are her people she’s supposed to protect.

In comes Dante. The bodyguard. The assassin. The outcast. The boy who loves books more than the fights he picks in the Bottom of the Barrel.

I loved this bodyguard, enemies to lovers romance and I’m so glad I was able to read it. The banter between these two is incredible, and I loved watching their relationship grow as they stretched each other and became better versions of themselves. I really grew to love them both so much.

I also really enjoyed the found family aspect of this book. It was really interesting how this started as enemies to family as well, and I loved seeing everyone’s relationships to each other by the end.

Overall, this book was great and a super fun read. I can’t wait to find out what happens in the next one.
2 people found this helpful
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Magical and beautiful. Loved every moment.

Do you want to feel all the things? Read this book.

Holy smokes.
I keep clicking for the next page and hoping book two will magically appear but I keep getting my heart broken.

This book. This. Book. THIS BOOK!! I preordered this. Didn't even need to add to cart. Clearly, I am a genius. Because this story was beautiful and heart breaking and soul reviving.

Alessa, god blessed. She is Saverio's chosen savior. All she has to do is find the other half of her duo, get wifed up, climb up a peak, grab on to her other half, magnify their power, blast the demon insects from the sky, and become a legend. Except, she keeps killing her would be partners with a simple touch of her hand. True story.

Alessa doesn't have any gifts of her own. But there are those that do have them and together, they will take on the demons sent to destroy their island and their homes and all their loved ones. Alessa just has to figure out how to magnify the powers given to her Fonte without killing them first. Tall order. I'm not even going to insult this magnificent storytelling by attempting to even begin to explain it. Just know that is deeply unique, intricate without being confusing, beautiful, and soul crushing. These characters are going to make you care about them. They're going to make you cheer for them, curse them, and if you're anything like me, they'll make you weep. I say "like me" but I'll be honest, it's been awhile since I've cared so much for a character I'm reading about and only know for the last few days. But damn if there weren't tears on my Kindle. I was wiping my tears and turning the pages too fast. That's another thing, be prepared to stay locked in after 15ish to 20 percent in. I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop. This writing style has a way of wrapping up chapters so that you do that bargaining thing of, two more chapters, okay well I will read until x, y, z gets resolved. Until finally you just accept your fate that you won't get peaceful rest until you've reached the end. This was just everything I didn't even realized I was hoping it would be. The friendship, the need, the love, the betrayal. Just the tremendous amount of everything on this one girls shoulders and how this all plays out. I am bewitched. I feel like I have said a lot and nothing at all. But if you take nothing else away from my rambling, take this: Read. This. Book. Then come talk to me about it. Because I'm just going to be over here waiting for more like a greedy little reader. Ha. I just did a thing with my words that I didn't mean to do and that you won't understand unless you read this book. Because I really need to talk about and compare reactions to the last two chapters. And not your standard, OMG plot twist reactions. It doesn't make sense, I know. Just read this and then it will. Okay, I'm done.
2 people found this helpful
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Very fun, heart wrenching, addictive

Very face paced read with twist and turns, slow burn romance, found family, and an ending that makes you want the sequel immediately
1 people found this helpful
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Fascinating World Building

I fell in love with Alessa and Dante. They really are what makes this story great. I love that they leaned into their attraction because their flirting was everything. Story-wise I did find the world building interesting but I do want to know more maybe about the enemy? I like how Alessa went about finding her next Fontes and made new friends or a found family. I wonder what will be happening in the next book after some events that take place at the end of the book. I’ll definitely be reading book two to get more of Alessa and Dante.
1 people found this helpful
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Love it!

This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

A magical fantasy debut. This book is SO good.

The world building is a little heavier in this one and there is a lot of information to keep track of and that made me adore it all the more. I love when you can really dive into a world and lose yourself as you figure it all out.

This story contains such a unique blend of Italian inspired elements, mythology, political strife, slow-burn, swoon-worthy romance, and a countdown to a quickly approaching apocalyptic situation.

The ROMANCE though. Ugh. All the heart eyes. There was so much longing. The witty banter was spot on. Everything was so well developed.

Other things I loved
-found family trope
-who to trust?
-comedic relief

The end leaves the story mostly wrapped up with an opening for more as this is a duology.

Content: brief open door romance, violence, alludes to past childhood abuse, self sacrifice
1 people found this helpful
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I'm just gonna go ahead and make this book my whole personality...

This book. THIS. BOOK. It’s definitely a strong contender for my favorite book of the year so far.

This is a really well-written fantasy novel. The perfect balance of modern writing and classic setting/themes/technology so that you aren’t totally thrown off. An interesting mechanic for magic, and incredibly high stakes.

And the characters. My gosh, do I love them. I want to hold onto them forever. Dante just is the perfect blend of grumpy and tender.
1 people found this helpful
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Not What I Expected

This Vicious Grace transports you to a magical, Italian-inspired world full of religious-political drama, romance, and friendship.

Alessa, the Chosen One known as the Finestra, has the fate of her island in her hands. Alessa is her people's only hope against an impending demon attack. The only catch is that she needs to find her Fonte. In theory, her magic is supposed to amplify her Fonte's magic. In reality, they die as soon as she touches them. Alessa has chosen 3 Fontes, and they have all died as soon as she touched them. Now, Alessa is facing assassination attempts because some people doubt she is the true Chosen One.

I think fans of From Blood and Ash will enjoy this book. This Vicious Grace has similar themes and tropes to FBAA. Both female protagonists can’t touch anyone, and live a very sheltered life in a bubble until an outsider infiltrates their world. Sadly, I didn’t connect with this book. I never fully understood the magic system and the world, nor did I feel invested in the characters. I can definitely see why people love this book, but the writing style didn’t work for me.
1 people found this helpful
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Great fantasy debut!

Wow! Kudos to Emily Thiede - I want book two of The Last Finestra right now! Hope the wait isn't too long. I certainly don't want to forget the story line before I can pick it up again. This is quite a fantasy debut. It's exciting and the tension builds and builds. I felt both hope and despair, sorrow and joy while reading this.

The blurb: "Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic, not kill every suitor she touches.

Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find a partner and stop the invasion. When a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, her own soldiers try to assassinate her.

Desperate to survive, Alessa hires Dante, a cynical outcast marked as a killer, to become her personal bodyguard. But as rebellion explodes outside the gates, Dante’s dark secrets may be the biggest betrayal. He holds the key to her survival and her heart, but is he the one person who can help her master her gift or destroy her once and for all?"

I truly loved the characters, they fit the bill perfectly; especially Alessa and Dante. They betrayals were horrifying and made me angry. The determination and courage shown by Alessa was amazing. I loved the story.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on June 28, 2022.
1 people found this helpful

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